Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Koborechi hen
by TheMindcipher
Summary: Takano is deafeated.  The group has enjoyed almost a year without death or fear.  However with the coming of another Watanagashi Festival also comes an unexpected visitor.  Will he offer a new beginning or a means to end all the group has tried to achieve.  Stories of death and woe will be retold and blood shall be spilled.  Rated M for Death, Language and Excessive Violence.
1. Chapter 1: Darkness

**Disclaimer:**

**I own neither the anime nor the characters from the anime or anything else. Enjoy:)**

**Koborechi-hen**

"**Darkness"**

"What should I do?" The former goddess mumbled to herself, trying to find an answer to why she was surrounded in pitch black darkness.

She remembered going to sleep after listening to Rika preach about how happy she was for everything that they had gone through for the past hundred years to be over. She had been happy for her friend's salvation then…Now she was scarred and confused as to where she was now.

This must be a dream she thought. Where else could she be where nothing but darkness surrounded her. She thought of what she was dreaming about but couldn't understand what was going on around her. She thought of waking herself up but then…

"Hehehehe…"

Laughter. She was certain that she had heard laughter just now. The sound had been uttered so quietly that she couldn't tell.

"Is anybody there?" Her words echoing throughout the seemingly empty space…No response.

"Hehehehe…"

She heard it again. It was a bit clearer this time. Clear enough for her to have a brief understanding of where the laughter had come from. She proceeded to walk towards where she thought the laughter was coming from.

"Hehehehehe…"

As she got closer to the sound she could tell that the laughter was coming from a boy but as she continued to approach the laughter started to send chills down her spine, a sense of anxiety beginning to build up in her.

"Hahahahahaha!"

She didn't like the sound of the laughter. It sounded sadistic…insane even.

"Hello!" She called out again, still receiving no response.

She began to walk faster towards the sound, each step heightening the sound of the ominous laughter coming from the mystery boy. She was about to stop and demand the person reveal themselves, but then something caught her eye… A light. From the continuous darkness a light had appeared before her. She thought of how if she went into it she might die and leave the world she had worked so hard to achieve with her new friends behind. She had experienced death once before. She didn't enjoy the thought of going through it again. But this was a dream wasn't it? She chose to go into the light and find the source of the laughter which had become constant now.

"Alright," she said to assure herself of her choice of action, and walked straight into the light.

There was a quick flash before the light disappeared. She now opened her eyes which she had forced herself to close upon seeing the flash before the light dispersed. But her eyes weren't the problem now. She became aware of a deafening laughter slamming into her ears like a hammer.

She covered her ears and took in her surroundings. She spun slowly in a circle taking everything in. Most of which was the same darkness, but one thing stood out.

Upon making half a rotation she saw someone lying on the ground some feet away from her. She squinted to get a better look at the person through the darkness. The person had fair brown hair wore a reddish dress shirt and-

"Keiichi!" She yelled, her voice nearly overcoming the laughter that barreled down on her. She ran over to see why he was on the ground, but stopped a few feet short.

"Keiichi what are you-? " Her voice catching in her throat upon getting a clear looks at the boy she new quite well. What she saw horrified her. The shirt that he was wearing wasn't a red dress shirt. It was formally his white one, but had seemingly been dyed red by what looked to be his own blood. She saw numerous holes in his shirt where something had pierced him, over and over again. Despite all this, what shocked her most was that he was still moving…He was still alive…

"Keiichi what happened?" She repeated over and over again seeking some response from the battered body that used to be her friend.

"Gahh…" Was all the boy could manage. His eyes, once violet, now bloodshot, sought her own but he couldn't quite look at her. She watched him lift his head up ever so slightly and convulsed over the painful movement, sending a spray of blood towards her and covering the front of her shirt.

"Don't move." Was all she could say. She tried to think of something comforting to say to him but as she contemplated the words she became aware of two things. One: The laughter that had been so deafening moments earlier had stopped. Two: She felt a menacing presence behind her.

She spun around to confront a trembling, bloody figure looking down on her.

Her words failed her. It was too much. The person looking straight at her had a crooked smile on his face, or what was left of it. His eyes were the color of mist, with thin lines of red forming jagged cracks in his eyes. The bloody mess that was his hair drooped slightly over one of his eyes and let a single drop of blood fall from the tip to the ground. As she looked to the rest of his body, she noticed him clutching a knife in both of his hands, blood seemingly flowing from the tips of each.

"Hehehehe…"

That same laughter as before except now it was coupled with the creature emitting it. She had decided to refer to the person standing before her as a creature or thing, to her it no longer resembled anything that could be human. She watched now as it proceeded to lift one of its knives above its head.

"What are you and what have you done to my friend?'" She said standing up to confront the thing in front of her, a hint of crimson forming in the center of her eyes. Despite her sudden burst of confidence she found herself trembling and fighting to maintain what composure she could.

The thing only looked at her, its eyes widening and its smile expanding with each passing second.

Whatever it was it wasn't talking. She thought of asking the question again when the silence was broken by the thing's now shrieking laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

She was taken aback by the sudden response but before she realized it, the thing swung the knife which it had seemingly suspended above its head down towards hers.

"DIEEEEE!"

It was the only word she had heard the thing say up until this point. It was hoarse, deafening and it was probably going to be the last thing she heard. This was the last thought she had before the thing brought the knife down on her. She was aware of a brief cutting sensation as well as the things laughing before everything went black.

**Author's Notes**

I'm pretty satisfied with the way this first chapter went considering it's my first writing. It's going to set the stage for the rest of my story and I'm quite content. Thanks for reading. If it suits you right me a review if not…meh.


	2. Chapter 2: Premonition

"**Premonition****"**

…!

"What was that?" Hanyu's words hollowly bounced off the walls of the once quiet room, splitting the silence of the otherwise bright and silent morning that now replaced the maddening darkness that had engulfed her in what seemed like moments before.

"Hanyu what happened?" The words coming from Rika who now sat up next to her with obvious concern on her face, any hint of tiredness hidden in her stern expression. "Why did you scream just now?" The question piercing the stupor that she could feel herself slowly falling into.

"A dream…" her words quiet and unemotional. "It was a dream…" more like a nightmare, she thought to herself. She could see it so clearly. The blood covered Keiichi, the thing that had seemingly killed her, and the laughter. She couldn't forget such heinous laughter.

"You had a bad dream?" Rika asked with the still stern look plastered on her face, obviously upset by what had happened to her friend.

"N-Not just a bad dream," fear making her words quake, "It was unlike any dream I've ever had before."

"Hanyu, you need to tell me exactly what happened in this dream." Rika's eyes now looking into hers with an unusual softness. They took away from the cold ones that she was so use to seeing in serious situations in the past.

She thought for a second. She decided that if she was going to tell Rika what happened, she would leave nothing out and tell her in great detail what happened. It really didn't matter anyways. Rika was used to the horror that constantly unfolded before her eyes in the past. Yet she regretted having to put forth more after putting behind all the horror of the past. It was truly a sad thought, but it didn't last long. She began to talk about the darkness at the very beginning.

"I don't know when it started but I found myself in total darkness at the beginning of the dream." She recalled how she couldn't see anything or where she was. "Before I could get a grip on what was happening I heard laughter coming from somewhere…"

"Laughter?" Said Rika, the confusion evident in her tone of voice.

"Yeah, I heard this person laughing and I started following the sound. As I kept walking the laughter kept getting louder… and more sinister."

Rika nodded for her friend to continue.

"Then there was a light, I was sure the laughter was coming from there so I stepped into it, and then…" she let her words trail off from her sentence.

"And then?" Rika said, urging her to continue.

"And then the laughter became so intense, deafening even. I looked around for the person but I found something else…" a shudder ran through her body.

"What did you find?" The question came out robotically, devoid of expression.

"I found Keiichi, except he had been hurt badly, really badly. He had holes in him and was covered in blood, but that wasn't the worst part."

"What was the worst part?" said Rika, unsure but desiring the answer more than she feared it.

"There was…This…Thing…Standing over me." Her words were now completely hollow.

"Thing? It wasn't a person?"

"It might have been at some point, but it didn't look like any person I could believe existed. He…Or it was torn and bloody, and it kept laughing."

"What did it do?" Rika was now making a prediction of what was going to happen next.

"It killed me." She said in the most deadpan voice she could imagine existed.

Rika scoffed, having seemingly but regrettably predicted the outcome of her story. She now focused hard on her and asked her a question she had not expected.

"Did you recognize it in anyway?"

She thought for a second, "No. Definitely not." She couldn't remotely tell if that thing resembled any person she had ever seen in the village.

"That's strange," she could hear the distaste in her voice, "I would have expected it to be someone from the past murders, or the Yamainu, or someone."

She could understand her friends concern. Wouldn't it be someone they had seen kill or be killed in the past. It was a strange thought for both of them.

"Plus," Rika said, putting forth another question for her, "The timing is weird."

_Timing?_ She thought. What was weird about the timing of her dream, and then it hit her.

"It's been almost a year since our victory in this world." They both said in unison.

"Exactly," Rika said. "Why now and why not eleven months or so ago, right after everything ended."

She remembered that they still a week to go before the Watanagashi Festival came again.

"Maybe it was something that might have happened in another world," she said hopefully.

"I doubt it," said Rika, "I think it's an omen." The last word hitting her like a punch in the stomach.

"You don't think that what I saw is going to happen, do you?" The question leaving an unsettling silence in the room.

"I hope that it's not true, but we better be on guard if what you saw does start to happen." Said Rika, a self-assuring demeanor coveting her voice.

"Yeah," she said, but it didn't feel like she was entirely sure about it. She didn't want another horror story to be written and added to the shelves of their pain and suffering.

They both became aware of someone stirring beside them.

Satoko. She thought at once. The entire time they had been talking she had been totally unaware of the girl that had been soundly sleeping beside them.

With that they both stood up and nodded to eacother.

"I won't allow this world to be consumed by death and insanity again," said Rika. She could tell from the expression her face that she meant every word.

She gave her friend a nod of approval and proceeded to start the day by getting ready for school. Hoping to temporarily rid herself of the horror that she could feel approaching.

**Author's Notes**

Wow! Scary stuff. I wonder what's gonna happen?

Will Keiichi and Hanyu be killed?

Will someone else be killed?

Or will the dream that foresees all this remain just that. A dream…

Once again if it suits you send me a review, if not…meh.


	3. Chapter 3: Visitor

"**Visitor****"**

"Damn it."

These were the two words Keiichi spoke as he awoke to the realization that if he didn't get a move on he would be late for school. Rena was probably already waiting for him and he didn't want to make her late either. He had absolutely no time for breakfast, and each second he took putting on his clothes weighed down on him heavily, making each seem to zip by faster than they should.

"Got to get a move on!" He said out loud as he raced down the stairs two steps at a time, nearly falling on the last few steps.

He was aware of his mother telling him that he should eat something, but he knew that he didn't have time for that. He brushed his mothers offer off, grabbed his school bag, and was out the door seconds later. He was running at a steady pace for what seemed like a minute before he caught sight of a red-headed girl waving at him in the distance. She was also accompanied by a girl with lush green hair, who was also waving at him. He recognized them as Rena and Mion.

"Good morning Keiichi-kun," said Rena, as he ran up to her, her words full of excitement and kindness upon seeing him.

"Morning Rena," he said between hastened breaths of air, "Sorry for making you guys wait."

Mion took a step forward, smiling ear to ear as she approached him.

"We thought you weren't going to show up. I was trying to convince Rena here to leave without you and let you run the whole way." Her words were full of sarcasm which she tried to, but failed, to hide from him.

"Like hell you would," he said to her, making clear the doubt to which he held towards her intentions.

Mion laughed and started to run ahead of him and Rena, "Come on," she said, "We're gonna be late at this rate and it'll all be Kei-chan's fault," she said, addressing the both of them.

With that he and Rena broke into a run, following their eccentric classmate all the way to school…

They had made it to the school with seconds to spare, the bell being rung just as they started making their way to the classroom. He had walked in triumphantly before his two other friends and was greeted by a torrent of chalk brushes raining down on him from above the door frame. The cause of such was easy to be found…And heard…

"Ohhohohoho." The laughter coming from the culprit of the trap to which he had unknowingly stumbled into.

"Satoko!" He said with a controlled rage in his voice, "Wait till I get my hands on you!"

The girl immediately ran away and around the classroom at first sign of his pursuit. He had almost caught her when he became aware of footsteps and multiple persons entering the class. He turned to see Mion, Rena and Chie sensei entering the class. A look of disapproval on his teacher's face told him that he was done.

"Maebara-san, what are you doing?" The malevolence clearly noted in her voice.

"I- errr…" he couldn't find a good way to support himself.

"Please take your seat so we can begin today's lesson," she said, speaking to both him and Satoko. Who before running to her seat stuck her tongue out at him, mocking his failure.

He groaned, took his seat and prepared himself for the lesson that lay ahead, knowing full well that he would have to help Mion and Rena with it later.

The day dragged on slowly, with little excitement for the students in the class. He was right about helping Rena and Mion. He had spent the better part of an hour explaining how to do the new math problems given by their teacher. He almost jumped out of his seat in anticipation when their teacher released them for lunch.

Even lunch wasn't that exciting, with a few choice comments from Satoko to deal with but otherwise nothing special. He and his friends shared their lunches and made some light conversation, but again, it was nothing special.

He was duly aware of one of the younger students asking for everyone to come and look out the classroom window at something outside.

"What's the problem?" Said Mion, slowly striding to the window where most of the kids had already gathered. He also walked over to the window to see what was going on. The day needed some excitement.

"Down the road," said the younger student, urging everyone to peer to the side and look down the vast expanse of road.

"I can't see anything," said Mion, unable to tell what she was looking for.

He also tried to look out into the distance but couldn't understand what he was supposed to be seeing. He looked a bit harder and then he noticed something.

_Was the road moving?_ He thought to himself as he watched as what looked to be part of the road moving in their direction. He tried to make sense of what he saw and came up with a theory.

"I think it's a cloud of dust," he announced to the others, who immediately turned to look at him. "Something's moving fast enough to make a cloud of dust in its wake."

He felt strong about his theory; he had seen this before a few times while walking home. Dust would sometimes rise up when a fast moving car went by on the dirt road, leaving him coughing and hacking in its wake.

"Look at it now," said another student. He could now see a black shape moving slightly ahead of the cloud of dust. As it got closer he could make out the shape to be a bike or motorcycle. The driver was hard to see.

He began to brush it off as just a biker going by their school and that it held no importance to him or anyone else. That all changed when the bike stopped and pulled onto the school's property.

"I wonder who that is." Said Rena, mild confusion lacing the ends of her words.

"Don't know," said Mion, "I've never seen this guy in town before."

She was right. No one had seen this person in their town before, especially not himself. He wondered why he was here. What he wanted. The questions draining from his mind as he watched the man begin to approach the school and make his way to the entrance. He wore mostly black and had a bandana wrapped around the lower part of his face and donned a mask that covered the rest of it. He didn't look like an ordinary biker.

"What's he doing here?" Asked the same student who had made them become aware of the approaching biker earlier on. Mion told her that she wasn't sure and to wait and see and that maybe he was just here to talk to the principal or something. Somehow he doubted that was what the man really wanted.

Just then he could hear footsteps down the hall and he told everyone in the class to be quiet. They listened as the footsteps drew closer and closer to the room. He was aware of some of the children taking steps back, but he encouraged them that it was nothing to worry about.

Then the door opened and in walked the biker from earlier…He was alone.

"Can we help you with something?" The words coming from Mion, who now stepped forward to address their unforeseen visitor.

He watched as the person scanned the faces of the many children in class, until his eyes; which were still covered by the mask he had seen the person wearing on the bike, met his own. He could feel something unsettling about the person in front of him. Something he didn't like.

"Maebara Keiichi?" The voice was that of a man's.

"Yes?" He said, not knowing what to expect next from the stranger.

"Please step forward." The words were completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

He did as the man instructed and stepped past his friend so that he was facing him directly. He wasn't sure why the man had asked him to do this. Was it him he wanted to talk to? Was he the reason why he was here?

"I'm glad to have been able to find you so easily." Said the man, now reaching for something behind his back. He had a bad feeling about this.

"What do you…" His words falling flat as the man quickly shoved a silver object into his field of vision. It was just inches away from his face. He could now see that it was a gun.

A few screams echoed through the classroom from a majority of the younger students before the man could continue.

"I've been waiting for this…Maebara Keiichi…"

**Author's Notes**

Well it looks like the day just got a lot more exciting, didn't it?

If ya got the time send me a review.

Thanks:)


	4. Chapter 4: Recollection

"**Recollection****"**

_Why? _The question being repeated over and over again within her head.

Why did this happen so soon. To dream about it last night and become reality today just isn't fair. She hadn't thought it would happen right away. She had thought that they would have some time to prepare…To have a chance.

What could they do now? The girl's frustration was almost overcoming the sadness she felt for her friends. She stood there now gawking at the sight that which beheld her. She saw her friend, gun to his head, awaiting the fate that this man had in store for him.

They had overcome much in the past together, but now they were weak, in shock, helpless, and nothing was going to change that. She knew full well that they would get no help; there would probably be no miracle for them or Keiichi for that matter.

She could see Rika next to her, on the brink of tears. She could see that this was tearing her apart. Not the fact that Keiichi was going to get shot, but the fact that she couldn't help. The fact that the pledge she had made this morning would be left hollow and unfulfilled.

She watched the man adjust his stance in preparation. She could tell he wasn't going to wait much longer before he ended things. They were out of time.

He couldn't believe it. What had he done to deserve this?

He and his friends had banded together to stop themselves from being killed, and now someone was going to finish the job? That was shit, pure utter shit. It felt like a sucker punch what was going on.

He glanced back at his friends who were still standing where they had been at the window. They were all scared, scared for him. He hadn't thought about being afraid of what was going to happen. All he thought about was the unfairness of it all. He also thought about how him getting shot would affect the group behind him. He could only imagine the shock it would create. Mion would probably go ballistic; she never took anything lying down. Rena would most likely do the same, or remain in shock. The others were kids, young ones at that, he doubted that they would be able to hold it together if they saw him get shot. He didn't want that to happen.

"Hey!" He said to the man in front of him. "I want you to do me one last favor before you shoot me." The man chuckled lightly at that.

"And what would that be?" He didn't seem interested in whatever he had to say.

"I want you to let them leave before you shoot me."

The man focused hard on Keiichi. The request looked to have had an impact on him somehow.

"You want me to let them leave?" He sounded dumbfounded.

"Yes." He said, keeping his cool, "please let them leave and then you can do whatever it is you want to me."

"Kei-chan!" the expression coming from Mion who was unable to contain her disapproval over what he had said.

"Mion, take everyone outside, I don't want you here when this goes down."

"But Kei-chan that's-." She had been interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

"That won't be necessary," said the man from in front of him. "No one's going anywhere," the jurisdiction in his tone was undeniable.

"Why not?" He said, trying to convince the man of his choice.

"They are going to see this whether you like it or not." He didn't seem to care about the impact it would have on all the children in the room.

"I intend for everything to play out just the way I'd planned it." He could bet the man was smiling underneath the bandana that covered his mouth.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The man was intending to inflict such a large amount of emotional trauma on everyone else by killing him. That sickened him. Why should everyone have to suffer when he could bite the bullet himself? _Fuck it. _He told himself. He would just have to hope that everyone would be strong, that they would be fine even if he did get shot.

"Then don't harm them after you're done with me." He was speaking the words through clenched teeth.

"That, I will grant you." The man had said it with the ever so slightest bit of sympathy in his voice.

"Thank you." He said to the man, thinking that that would be the only gratitude he would ever give this man.

The man adjusted the gun so that it was a bit farther away from his face. He could now see clearly down the barrel of the weapon, the darkness inside beckoning to him.

He didn't close his eyes. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of his total conceit. The gun would be the last thing he saw.

"You're brave," said the man, his tone easing up a bit.

"No, just stupidly determined." He felt that those words were a high enough note for him to end on. He was finished. He had done everything he could. He braced himself for impact…

He was expecting to hear the crack of the gun as it went off in his face, before the bullet hit him. But he heard nothing. He had accidentally closed his eyes as the man pulled the trigger. He had instantly regretted that. But now his regret was replaced with a new feeling, a wet feeling.

_Water?_

He felt water running down the front of his face where he imagined the bullet should have lodged itself.

_Water? _He thought again. He opened his eyes to see a thin spray of water coming out from the barrel of the gun, which was gently batting against the front of his face.

"What the hell?" He thought out loud as he took a few steps back from the man in front of him. He was aware that the man that had stood before him earlier and was emotionally devoid, was now laughing.

"The look on your face!" The man said aloud so that everyone in the room could hear him, "It was priceless." This was followed by an even stronger torrent of laughing.

He was furious. What the hell kind of game was this man playing? He had played a sick joke on him and he wanted to know why.

"What the hell was that for?" His question had made the man stop for a second before continuing his laughing.

"Oh come on, that was hilarious. You never get to see a reaction like that twice." He had absolutely no concern for the distressed teen in front of him.

He was about to say something hateful before the man started to take off the gear that was covering his face.

"What are you-?" The question was interrupted by the man speaking again.

"Honestly, I thought you would have understood what was happening Keiichi. You're so dense..." He realized that the man's voice was becoming less harsh, it almost sounded like a kid's.

Before he could say anything else the man tore off the mask and bandana hiding his face and dropped them to the classroom floor.

He was astonished. He couldn't believe who the man that stood before him was. But he knew the man, he knew him well. Also he couldn't necessarily call the man a man neither; he was still a bit too young to be called that.

"You're…" He couldn't find the words to say the person's name.

"It's been a while Keiichi. My friend.

**Author's Notes**

I wonder who the person in front of him could be.

Oh wait…I do.

After this chapter you'll start to understand just who this person really is.

Send me a review if you have some free time on your hands. Which you probably do since you took the time to read this.

O_o


	5. Chapter 5: Friend?

"**Friend?****"**

"So… Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

The question felt out of place after what he had just done. The man had threatened to take his life from him and would have forced his friends to watch as he got shot. He had seen this person as a crazy unsympathetic bastard who didn't give a shit about others. Now he looked at the person not only as if he was crazy, but like he was a long lost friend, which was exactly what the person was. He wanted to hug him after not seeing him for so long, but after what happened, the action would have felt out of place…

"What are you doing here?" He asked the question with no hostility in it, but he felt as though it wasn't the best thing to say to him. Especially since this was the first time he had seen him in nearly a year and a half.

The boy frowned at him. "Awww come on Keiichi, don't I get a proper greeting than just 'What are you doing here?' Haven't seen ya in over a year's time after all."

"You did almost kill me," he said frankly."

"That was a joke! I didn't think you'd take it that hard after seeing me."

"You scared everyone half to death!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah!" said a voice from behind him. He turned to see Mion walking to his side. She wasn't pleased with the joke either. "You walk in feigning the intention to kill Kei-chan, scare us all to death, and expect us to just laugh about it afterwards?" her anger becoming stronger with each word.

"Yeah," he said casually, "thought you guys would see the humor in it."

"Well let's just say we're not laughing," said Mion, her anger dwindling away, "Who the heck are you anyway?"

The boy chuckled. "Right, since Keiichi here won't do it, I guess I'll do it myself," he said, turning to address the group as a whole.

"My name is Kiratori Duos; I'm an old friend of Keiichi here. It's a pleasure to meet you all.

He smiled broadly in front of the group. He didn't seem to be bothered that most of the group didn't trust him.

"A friend of Keiichi's?" she said in a more friendly way. "Very well, I'm Sonozaki Mion, the class president here."

"Nice to meet you," said Duos, "And the rest of you are?" he said, waiting for the others to finish his sentence.

He realized that he should do the right thing with introducing his friend to the rest of the class. He told him who Rena, Satoko, Rika, Hanyu and the rest of the class were. He received a satisfying grunt from Duos as he inspected the rest of the group.

"Nice lot you have here. I expected as much, your charisma could attract an army." He decided to take it as a compliment.

"Anyways I'd like to apologize for scaring you all," the sincerity was evident in his voice.

"Well…" said Mion, "I guess you can't be all that bad if you're willing to apologize up front and all…"

"I'm glad I thought I had made the worst impression ever…"

_You idiot of course you did! _ He thought to himself. He was just happy Mion had accepted the apology for the class and was hopefully not too angry at him. He thought for sure that she'd clock him one after that. Duos got off lucky.

"Anyways, it's best I be going. I promised your teacher that I wouldn't take up too much time in greeting you. You guys still got school for another few hours anyway-,"

"Wait! Chie sensei new about what was going on!" said Mion as she took another step towards Duos. He was probably gonna get it now…

"Yeah, I walked in, got the o.k. from her and your principal, and made my way down to your classroom." He seemed proud of himself. "I did modify what I told them a bit in order to suit my preference though."

"I bet you did," he said to Duos, holding off his angered friend.

"Well, I'll drop by once your school's finished. Then we can catch up," he said as he bent down to pick up the mask and bandana from earlier.

"That sounds good." His mood picking up a bit, "See ya later."

"See ya!" he called back, as he made his way out of the classroom.

It wasn't long before they watched him get on his bike and speed out of the schoolyard, waving to them as he left the property.

Safe…

The word, though relieving, did nothing to relinquish the fear dwelling in the young goddess. She had felt it, the fear, the same as the time when she saw a creature killing her in her dreams. It was all too familiar. But she couldn't bring herself to think that this boy could be the one that would kill her… No, she could, she just didn't want to think about it…

But she had felt something, something for sure. She would not deny that to herself. They had come close today. Too close. She wasn't sure about the boy's presence here, being almost a week before the festival came again. What were the chances, she knew deep down inside that it was no coincidence.

The bell rung, signaling the end of lunch.

She watched as the groups of kids began to reset their desks to their original spots and prepare for the next half of the day. They all looked to be over what had just happened. They had confidence in Keiichi. If he was fine with the boy and forgave him for what he did, then they had no reason not to do the same. But not her. She knew they had to be careful this time around. They didn't know a lot about this boy and friend or no fiend they had to be ready. She had seen the insanity and bloodshed that had befallen her friends in the past.

She wasn't going to give fate another chance to finish them off. Not on her life…

**Author's Notes**

When one enemy is taken down, a new one arises…

5 chapters down, I don't know how many to go.

Review if it pleases you.

Heh…That rhymes:)


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting

"**Meeting****"**

Keiichi was happy.

After all they had gone through today he was happy. He was happy that nothing that bad had come out of his friend's unexpected visit. He was also happy that Duos wasn't mauled by Mion. But what he was happy most about was seeing his friend, his best friend that he hadn't seen in ages.

How was he doing? Did he finish high school? Was there a reason to why he had come to see him? All of these question buzzed around in his head as he waited tirelessly for the day to be concluded.

He looked around at everyone else in the class.

He could see Satoko, Rika, and Hanyu working on some of the harder math problems given by their teacher. He watched as Satoko got frustrated because she couldn't find the answer. He knew that she hated fractions, but he stifled a laugh. After a life or death situation all she was worried about was whether or not she could solve a math problem. He was tempted to help her with the problem, but figured Rika and Hanyu would be enough help.

He looked to the other side of the class and saw Rena and Mion talking casually. He couldn't tell what they were talking about but it didn't matter. He felt some joy in the fact that they were taking everything so lightly, especially Mion.

Mion had been quick to scold him about putting himself out to protect them, when she thought it was her duty to protect the class. She was also greatly displeased with his friend's sense of humor. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he did it to protect her of all people. He had born witness to Mion's self-sacrificial actions in the past. He had sworn after that day that he would never let her fall into that position again. Never.

As if on cue, Mion waved at him giving him a puzzling look. He was unaware that he had been looking at her while deep in thought, and that maybe she had got the wrong idea…

He returned the wave and she smiled before resuming her conversation.

_Normal… Everything feels so normal…_

As he thought the words he reflected on past events in Hinamizawa. He remembered the time when everyone was in danger and all their lives hung in the balance between them and Takano. He also remembered times of past death and insanity that had consumed him and his friends. The memories sent a shiver down his spine.

But this time things hadn't changed. Fear hadn't gripped anyone and people weren't questioning what had transpired. They had accepted Duos' actions as a joke, a very crude but somewhat innocent joke. This was reassuring. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could feel a sense a security, a sense of peace. And he would fight tooth and nail to protect it.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day. He watched as the younger students got up eagerly from their desks, said goodbye to their teacher, and ran out the door. It wasn't long before him and the rest of the club, were the only ones left in the classroom.

"Alright! Let's get a move on with today's activities," said Mion excitedly.

"Yeah let's get started so Keiichi can lose," added Satoko smugly.

He gave her a hard stare showing the determination in his eyes. He had already lost three times to Satoko this week and had been subjected to her punishments. He didn't want to lose again.

"You just watch, I'll cream you this time around!" He said, with a slight edge in his voice.

"Then without further delay let the games begin! The game's Old Geezer and last place gets the punishment, you all know the rules," said Mion.

"Let's do this," he announced as the first round commenced.

In the end he actually hadn't done that bad. He had come in second losing to Satoko by only one game. She had boasted her victory to him but held back considering she couldn't inflict the punishment on him. Instead it was Rena who lost the game and was punished by being forced to carry Satoko's books and Satoko back to her house before going home. He was glad he hadn't got that one.

After the activities finished he waved goodbye to his friends as they made their trip home and watched as Rena happily carried Satoko home. He found it ironic that Rena had actually got to take Satoko home, even if it wasn't her own home the thought was still amusing.

He started walking home alone and pondered the events of today which were still vivid in his mind. He got about half-way down the road before he heard a voice from behind a tree.

"How was school?" said the voice from the shadows.

He turned to come face to face with Duos, leaning against a tree eating an apple. He seemed calm and content and was patiently awaiting his response.

"Fine, nothing much interesting about it, until you dropped by." He said casually.

"Too bad, would have liked to hear something interesting," said Duos.

"You were something interesting," he replied flatly.

"Good point," said Duos through a mouthful of apple. "Anyways now that you're out of school I thought you and I could do some catching up."

"Sounds good, let's go back to my house and talk."

"Hop on," said Duos, tossing the core of the apple into the dirt and started off along the road with him in tail.

His parents were ecstatic when they saw him and Duos walk into his house. They asked him how he had been, what had he been up to, and why had he come to Hinamizawa. He blatantly answered all these questions with less than remarkable answers and was eager to go upstairs to his room and await a year's worth of information. He had to admit that he couldn't wait to start talking.

After they had gotten settled they opened the conversation with why was he in Hinamizawa? They had already gotten past the brief introductions of his wellbeing and were eager to get to the more interesting parts of the past.

"I came here because I got tired of living in the city," said Duos. "I had a job with a moving company, they paid me well but it was all just work, day in and day out. There was nothing for me there back in Tokyo so I thought of where you went and guessed that it would be better to live with good company, than with those who don't give a rat's ass if you live or die."

He marveled at Duos' reasoning, he wouldn't have guessed that he would have come all this way just for good company. Then again, he didn't have much better company.

At age seventeen and a-half Duos was recently out of high school and had to provide for himself. Though he didn't have to do too much considering his family left him a large inheritance after they died. He had only been fourteen when they died and he could only imagine life without his parents.

Following their death he convinced the city to leave him alone. He had also been working since he was a kid to keep the inheritance intact so the city had little concern for him. In his eyes Duos was the definition of redemption.

"So where did you get the motorcycle?" He inquired.

"Oh that? A guy from the moving company, one of the only good guys I knew working there owed me a favor. When he heard I was going off on my own to Hinamizawa he had his friend who owned a dealership give me a good deal on a bike. I thanked him a lot for it. It's the reason I'm here now."

He had to hand it to Duos; he was impressed that he had come out here with just the bike and whatever he could probably carry on his back. He wondered where he was staying.

"So what are you going to do now? You have a place to stay or something?"

"I got it under control. A month ago I finally managed to sell the old house and added the money from it to the inheritance and since I got such a good deal on the bike, I can put the rest of my money to building a new home for me in Hinamizawa." He said confidently.

"So that's the reason why they're building that new house here in Hinamizawa!"

"Yep, it's not gonna be huge but it will be spacious for my living. I'm even having the stuff from my apartment in Okinomiya shipped here, that's where I'm living right now," said Duos quaintly.

He was amazed that Duos had planned this far ahead, he thought he had just come out here on a whim, but it looked like Duos had thought things through thoroughly.

"I'm glad you're set up and you're good to go," he said happily, "So do you just plan on living out your life here in Hinamizawa?" He said questioningly.

"Pretty much, I want to have a fresh start after all that's gone down." He said in a low voice.

The room went silent as both of them recalled what happened in Tokyo some years back. Neither of them wanted to bring up the subject.

"Well I best be going, I need to get on the road to Okinomiya before it gets to dark outside. I'm not quite comfortable with the roads yet here."

He understood and escorted his friend to the door. He waved to him as Duos walked to the side of the road where he parked his bike. A minute later he was speeding off towards the already setting sun in the sky.

**Author's Notes**

If you were following this story than I apologize for not posting this chapter sooner. I've been dealing with some complications and I couldn't use the internet for a while.

I hope to continue writing from this point on and hope a good story comes out of it.

Anyways I'm pretty sure that if you're reading this I've got my point across about my views on reviews. It's your choice and not mine so do it if you want to. I won't be mentioning anything about it for the rest of this story.

Hope you like how it's going :)


	7. Chapter 7: Shrouded

"**Shrouded"**

"The rural country really is better than the city," said Duos aloud as he made his way to Okinomiya.

He never really found the idea of living in the countryside appealing, but now that he was here he knew he'd made the right decision. Hinamizawa was lush and beautiful and the townsfolk were nice and greeted him with affection when he told them he was moving into the new lot in the summer.

However he found that the cry of the cicadas was the most entrancing thing about the land. It was so loud and rhythmical. He could imagine the cries as words and messages being passed onto him. It truly was a beautiful thing to hear…

(Sigh)

All his thoughts of Hinamizawa made him remember his old life in Tokyo, the life that he should never have had but a life that was his own to live. He missed his family; more than anything he missed his family.

(Sob)

He was going to cry if he kept remembering the past. It was too painful and he had already promised himself that this would be a fresh start, that he could leave the past behind and make a new life.

"I will live…and I will be happy…" He mumbled the words through his face mask.

He was about to enter the city of Okinomiya when he noticed something.

"Low on gas…damn…"

He pulled in to a gas station just before the city limits and started refueling his bike.

He decided to hum a tune his father taught him when he was young. It was the only thing he never felt bad about when remembering his father.

"_I walk, I walk, I walk down this street, with courage in my hand…"_

"_I stand, I stand, I stand on my feet, with no fear for this man…"_

"_He looks, he looks, he looks through my eyes, like a man ready to die…"_

"_He speaks, he speaks, he speaks to me, I'll be damned if he tells a lie…"_

"_I-…" _he stops humming the tune.

_Did I just hear something…?_

He could have sworn he heard something, a light taping of some sorts. He thought it might have just been an animal scurrying across the pavement. No. He could tell now that it was more a clicking than a tapping, like footsteps. He listened intently, but heard nothing, just the cry of a few cicadas.

_Probably just imagined it…_

He ignored his curiosity for the moment and went to pay for the gas.

He went in the store and paid the owner the amount due. He was just getting the change when he asked the owner…

"Did you see anyone else besides me outside?"

The owner replied saying, "No, sorry kid I haven't. You're the only person who's come by in the past half hour and I haven't left this store all day, hahaha."

_That's weird, I could've sworn I heard footsteps, but no one else is here, just me._

He thanked the owner and went over to his bike when he heard it again. Footsteps. They had almost been in time with his own, they were just slightly off. He was getting an ominous feeling, like he was being watched.

_Screw this…_

He realized it was getting dark and jumped on his bike and headed into Okinomiya. He had only been driving for a minute or so when he got the feeling again.

_Is someone following me?_

He thought he could hear another vehicle other than his own and that the sound always had the same intensity. If the vehicle was following him it was keeping perfect pace.

_Got to make sure…_

At that moment he slowed and stopped abruptly in the middle of a street and pretended to adjust his face mask. He only took a few seconds but that was all he needed. In the short time after he stopped he had heard it… The sound of another car also stopping… He was being followed…

He restarted the engine and sped away. He decided to take a detour through a busier section of Okinomiya. The area was full of restaurants and stores and there was some mild traffic with people coming home from work.

"This is my chance!" He said as he drove towards a busy intersection. He had seen the traffic light on green for a while so it would be turning red soon. If he could get through then he would lose his follower.

"Come on." The traffic light was now yellow, he had to push it. He sped up slightly and managed to go through as the light turned red. He looked back and traffic was already advancing across the intersection.

_Success!_ He thought to himself. He took a few side roads until he reached the apartment complex where he was staying. He parked his bike on the other side of the building so if they followed him they wouldn't see his bike. He booked it into the building and was greeted by the landlord.

"Oh! Hello Duos-san, why the rush?" He inquired.

"Just need to use the bathroom, had to go since I left Hinamizawa."

"Oh alright, just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong." The manager was completely unaware that he had been followed by someone halfway through Okinomiya.

"Thank you for your concern but I best head up now," he said with a grimace on his face.

"Hahaha! Yes I bet you should!" The manager laughed at his consternation and went back to reading a book he had put down when he ran in.

After his conversation with the manager he rushed up the stairs to his apartment where he unlocked the door and locked it behind him with the latch for good measure. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was happy to be back in his apartment.

He looked around at the furniture and the other things that lined the apartment. They had all come from his old place in Tokyo but they seemed to fit in a bit better with this apartment.

He didn't have much because he never needed that many things. His old place had had more space and appeared to be missing something every time he looked around. However now it all fit in quite well with the little apartment.

He liked the apartment a lot but he wanted a house. He was going to get more stuff for the house when he moved in. More furniture, bigger bathroom, large kitchen, nice futon… The thoughts swam around in his mind for a few moments before he remembered today's instance with the person following him.

He lay down on his couch and pondered the day…

He remembered the joke he pulled on Keiichi's class. He thought it was really funny. The kids there didn't think so though; especially that girl with the green hair…

"Mion I think was her name…" He thought of how she tried to stick by Keiichi during his fake intention to kill him.

"She was protective of him…nice girl. Maybe she has feelings for him? That would be nice if someone liked him like that."

No girls paid much attention to Keiichi back in Tokyo. Then again neither did they do so with him. He had been socially reclusive and didn't concern himself with relationships. He was never interested by them.

Then he thought about the person that had been following him. He found it kind of funny and almost carmatic that it happened to him. However it still un-eased him. Why would someone be following him? He hadn't done anything wrong, he might've sped a bit through the yellow light at the intersection but that was the only wrong that he could think he'd committed since he came here…

The questions swirled in his mind asking why, but while he came up with different answers to these questions his thoughts turned to a desk in the far corner of the room.

He got up off the couch and walked over to the desk.

He ran his hand over the smooth surface of the desk. It was one of his favorite possessions. He had bought it back in Tokyo for school and he had worked and wrote numerous assignments on this desk over the years…

His thoughts changed again as he bent down below the desk so that he could see the bottom. To the untrained eye it would seem like nothing was different about the desk but beneath it there was a small keyhole to a secret compartment he had installed in the desk.

He kept the key with him at all times and so removed it from his pocket and opened the compartment.

He reached up into it and pulled out a fair sized case from the compartment. The case looked like any ordinary business man's suitcase, with a five digit numerical lock on the front with a code needed to open it. However there was one exception. On the side of the case where many chose to inscribe their names or initials there was instead a large smiley face, painted in red on the side of the suitcase.

He took the case and held it up in his hands and said a few faint words before putting it back in the compartment.

"I hope it's not because of you…"

With that he put the case back, locked the compartment and went to bed.

**Author's Notes**

I like this chapter a lot and I had a great deal of fun writing it.

Readers get to know Duos a bit better and his thoughts on coming to Hinamizawa.

I'm in the groove for writing right now so I expect to post the next chapter shortly :)

Also I'm sorry if in past chapters there was an abrupt transition from one character to the next. I'm having a hard time trying to separate them so if I can't figure a way around that problem I'll just add an extra space from now on.

Hope you're all enjoying the summer :)


	8. Chapter 8: Reaction

"**Reaction"**

Hanyu was sitting next to the window of the house she shared with Satoko and Rika. She looked out over Hinamizawa, watching as life in the village slowed down and people closed out their day. It had been an interesting day, not just for her but for all her friends too.

"Hauuu… everything turned out okay," she murmured. Thinking about how lucky they were that nothing became of today's instance at the school. She would just sit down with Rika and Satoko and enjoy dinner. They were having tofu tonight. She loved the tofu Satoko made.

"For the most part," said a voice from behind her. She turned to see Rika leaning against the wall at the far end of the room. She had a glass in her hand that was filled with a dark liquid.

"Rika… that isn't alcohol, is it?" She said sadly.

Rika responded with her usual laugh before saying, "Don't worry it's only juice."

She gave a sigh of relief. She didn't like it when Rika drank in the past worlds, but since they conquered fate Rika had little need for alcohol. However, today's instance would imply that she might deviate back to her old ways.

"Hanyu I need to tell you something. I'll be honest; I was scared back there in the school, scared and angry at the same time because I was powerless… I allowed someone to walk in and break the peace. Everything would have been for naught if it hadn't been a crude joke."

She was surprised by Rika's out of character response, but she could see that Rika was really upset now. She had all the right to be too.

"Rika, Duos announced that his intentions were solely for comedy. He didn't mean any harm; he just has a bad sense of humor… besides he apologized for what he did."

"That may be true but I don't trust him. Friend or not of Keiichi he was still a danger to us all and I'd hate to see what his sense of humor puts us through next time," the spite was coming clear through her words.

"That's true… and I'm still apprehensive about my premonition, but if we open up to him and not act on fear or impulse than I'm sure we won't run into past problems."

Rika was silent for a moment before giving her answer.

"Alright," she said after a long pause, "I'll give him a chance and with it my trust, but I will still be wary of him."

"That goes double for me!" said a voice from the kitchen. A few seconds later in came Satoko with a large grin on her face.

"What Duos did today was definitely NOT funny, but it was still a joke. He apologized for his actions too but I won't let him off that easily! I'll put him in a few of my traps; maybe even the ones I've forbidden even to be used on Keiichi! That'll show him!"

Hanyu could tell that Satoko was eagerly anticipating the traps she would use on Duos but also that she had in a way already forgiven him for what he did.

"Then I guess we all agree that Duos is forgiven, right?" she said hoping to get the approval of her friends.

"I forgive him… for now…" said Rika,

"I forgive him too, but that won't spare him from my wrath!" said Satoko, "Now let's have dinner, I put it out on the table before I came in so let's eat before it gets cold!"

Hanyu and Rika laughed and followed their friend into the kitchen where their delicious tofu awaited them.

As the three girls enjoyed their dinner, Rena was taking a shower. She too pondered today's events but did so alone, letting the water of her shower beat softly against her skin while she played back the events of the day. She finished her shower, dried herself off, and lay flat on her bed, not sure what to make of the day she had.

She found it to be the most unusual day she'd had in a long time. She had been put in an unusual position to be forced to stand and watch as her friend was shot, only to find out that it wasn't the real thing, all a misguided joke.

"Hmmph!" she said, violently smacking the pillow that lay beside her. She didn't like Duos at all. She found him to be arrogant and disrespectful. She disliked more than anything his opinion of a joke. He had laughed. No one else did. Keiichi was used to Satoko's pranks and all the other group antics, but he hadn't laughed. He was even the first one to scold him for what he did. Then after, Duos had shrugged it off like it was nothing, like he didn't care, like it didn't matter.

She let her thoughts of anger and frustration run circles around her mind, but it got to a point where she had to stop and think about the one factor concerning Duos. The factor that would lighten her growing despair for the boy.

"But…he is still Keiichi-kun's friend…" it was the one thing holding back her distain for Duos. She trusted Keiichi, he didn't always make the best decisions, and some got him into messes, but friendship…

"Keiichi-kun holds his friends in high regard…" she thought aloud again.

Through thick and thin she knew that Keiichi put friendship above all else. She also thought of how Keiichi never said anything about friends back in Tokyo. She never assumed he had no friends but the possibility had come up in her mind before.

Keiichi said that before he came here he said studying was all he did back in Tokyo. He said that everyone was in competition with each other… that friendship was null…

"Life without friends…" the words were cold on her lips, she hated even thinking about the meaning of those words.

…

"If life was like Keiichi said it was then Duos can't be all that bad…" the words were bittersweet but deep down she knew they were probably right.

_People are flawed naturally; so all she did was witness one of his flaws right?_

Her train of thought was suddenly broken by a knocking sound coming from downstairs.

She smiled as she heard her father's voice asking her to come down and eat dinner. He didn't usually cook for her but when he did she treated it like a special occasion. She liked that her dad always tried to do what he could for her.

Before going down she slipped into her pajamas and put on a pair of cute slippers she found at the Seven Mart two months back. She loved the softness of the slippers; they made her feet feel soft like cotton.

"A second chance is fair," she said to herself before she skipped down the stairs to the food awaiting her.

While most of her friends were sitting down to dinner, Mion was sitting in her room starring at the walls next to her futon. She wasn't hungry.

What happened today felt like a video that was on replay. She could see it all happening again. Takano pointing a gun at them, her standing in front of her friends, the crack of the gun…

But this time it had been different. It had been the same as back then but the roles had been switched. Instead of Takano wielding the gun it had been Duos, and instead of her out in front protecting her friends it had been Keiichi.

"Kei-chan…"

She couldn't stop thinking about what he had done. She couldn't forget the conviction in his voice and the acceptance of death that would have been his price to pay. He never faltered; he had stood up to protect them without any concern for himself, only hoping that he could spare his friends. Just like her…

She had been angry when she saw Keiichi step up to protect them. She tried to stop him, but he had told her to take care of everyone. Should she have challenged him? Stood her ground? The possibilities were there for her but she didn't take mind of them. She had sat back and watched. That made her angry more than anything and also a good part sad.

While she waited to see Keiichi be shot she had fought hard to keep her composure and contain her sadness. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. She had thought about all the time she spent together with him, the fun they had, the games they played, the strife they fought, and it all came down to the cringing feeling she had felt that had screamed for her to help him, to be with him.

It all flashed before her eyes as she waited to see him bite the bullet. She remembered the day she first saw him, a city boy who had never associated himself with their kind of lifestyle. However she had seen something in him the day they first met. When she first called him 'Kei-chan' she saw the energy in his eyes and the competitive attitude that would make him a great club member. She saw that he would be a friend, a best friend even, and he had done just that. In a short period of time he had made his way into their club and established himself as a strong, innovative member. Was that what had attracted her to him? Or was it something else that she had felt for him along the way?

She didn't close her eyes before Duos pulled the trigger. She had seen the water spurt out from the end of his gun and had instantly felt a burst of anger. She wanted to jump at Duos for what he did, for what he had put her through. But that anger was soon quelled by the relief that Keiichi was safe, that no harm had come to him.

After what Duos had done she had to feign her strong and composed attitude. It had been hard. She had been on the verge of a mental breakdown that would have ended with her at Duos' throat. However Keiichi was there to mediate her emotions. He was the reason things proceeded smoothly after the event.

She clenched her fist as she dwelled on her anger toward Duos. She told him that everything was at amends because he was a friend of Keiichi's, but she had wanted to yell at him and state her true feelings for what he had done. She had wanted her words to be a joke much like Duos' and her real intention revealed in a shock to all. But she didn't do it. She hadn't enough time before Duos had been out the door. Leaving her and the rest of the class with an ominous and shady impression of himself.

She hadn't bothered to think about why he had done the act. She had been concerned about the _what_ not the _why_. Was this what Duos was always like? Was he mischievous like Satoko? Or cruel like Takano? She didn't know anything about him as did probably everyone else, besides Keiichi.

She thought long and hard about her next move. Maybe she needed some perspective on Duos? Maybe she had to learn who he was before passing judgment. However how would she go about the process? Should she ask Keiichi for a description of Duos or try the source and ask Duos in person what he was like?

She sat up straight. Her mind was made up.

"I'll get to know him in person." She said aloud.

If Duos wasn't all he was cracked up to be than things would work out. But if not… she would have to handle him herself… for the good of everyone…

**Author's Notes**

My apologies about my inconsistency, I have been busy away from home for a while and have had little time to write.

This chapter was a bit slow as some of the characters thoughts are considered following the events in recent times. Also I wasn't originally planning for any pairings in this story but I think I might gravitate to some KeiichixMion as the story progresses.

I'm also hoping this chapter will turn out well considering I've exhausted most of my methods for distinguishing character change.

Until next time.


	9. Chapter 9: Confrontation

"**Confrontation"**

The next couple days following the incident at the school were uneventful. The group was back to their usual antics and Duos hadn't been seen since the day of his first appearance. Now it was Friday and two days until the Watanagashi Festival.

The day passed by effortlessly, and to everyone's surprise, their teacher ended class for them half an hour earlier than usual. Mion now found herself going through her locker looking to pick out today's game.

"Mmmm, not this one…" she said, lifting the case of a large board game over her head and dropping it behind her. None of the games were speaking to her today; she kept shifting about till one got her attention.

"Here we are!" she said as she pulled a deck of cards out from under another box. They hadn't played this game in months.

"Mi-chan which game are we playing today, which game?" Rena cheered excitedly as Mion came over and placed the cards on the table where all her friends sat.

"We're playing one of my personal favorites today. We're gonna play "Murderer", you all remember the rules right?"

"We have to find out who the murderer is, what they used, and where they did it, right?" said Keiichi.

"Exactly!" said Mion, "The first person who can determine who, what, and where the murder happened is the winner. The person who wins the least number of times will be subjected to the winner's punishment. Oh! And I added a few little extras since the last time we played this."

"Like what?" said Keiichi.

"I added some extra culprits to make the game more interesting, since you always lose first every time we play this."

She watched as Keiichi rummaged through the deck until he stopped and pulled out one of her new cards.

"Childhood Friend…?"

"Yeah, I decided that it would leave more to the mind if you had culprits with broader titles," she showed him a few more of the new cards.

"All you're doing is prolonging Keiichi's inevitable defeat," said a spiteful Satoko.

"Oh yeah? I'll show you who's going to be the one prolonging their defeat. I'll be the one giving you the punishment while you weep in awe over how great I am at this game!"

"Bring it then, you'll be eating my dust before you can even guess the weapon!" said a vengeful Satoko.

A cheer rose up amongst the group as they all prepared themselves for the game. Each one of them eager to test their skills and inflict punishment on the others…

After several rounds of the game and to everyone's surprise, Keiichi was in first. But what was more shocking was that Mion was in last.

"Guuuhhh… I can't believe I'm losing this bad."

"Hey, you picked the game Mion, you can't complain when you were the one that picked it," said Keiichi, taunting her with his cards.

"It is weird it is, Mi-chan never loses this badly," added Rena.

The rest of the group eyed Mion with quiet satisfaction as they could see that their leader was finally taking her turn to come in last and suffer a punishment. All of them, especially Keiichi relished the thought of this rare occurrence, before they were interrupted by Mion standing up.

"I'm going to the bathroom, back in a bit," said Mion as she darted out of the classroom and down the hallway leaving her friends to fall into discussion over what Keiichi should have Mion do as a punishment. She ended her running soon after and slowed down to a walk as she pondered the game.

"What's up with me, I can't guess anything today! Wonder what Kei-chan's gonna do to me after this one… He'll probably make me wear something humiliating… Guess what goes around comes around… Or something like that.

"Or maybe he'll…" She stopped walking.

"Oops…"

Lost in thought, she had walked out the front door of the school and now found herself standing in the openness of the schoolyard.

"Jeez what was I thinking, bathroom's the other way!"

"Can't find your way to the bathroom?" said a voice from off to the side.

Turning slightly to the side she saw a figure lying in the shade of one of the school's walls. The figure was casually smiling at her and shaking its head left and right in disapproval.

"You're…" her words trailed off.

"Duos. If you don't remember then I'll-"

"You pulled that stunt at the school a few days ago. How could I forget!" she said angrily.

"Point taken, if you'll just-"

"What are you doing here?" a slight edge in her voice.

"Thought I'd drop by and see Keiichi after his school finished, guess you guys are still busy."

"Well yeah, we still have club activities and we won't be done for a while, so you'd be wasting your time waiting around," she turned her back on him and made her way back to the front entrance.

Duos raised his head slightly.

"Oh really? I thought you guys would be done soon considering how bad you were doing in there."

She stopped and turned around to see Duos giving her a triumphant smirk.

"Were you watching us?" a look of disgust crossing her face.

Duos just smiled at her.

"Well yeah, you were making such a commotion, that I found it impossible for me to ignore you guys. Besides, you got so absorbed in your game you never even noticed me when I glanced in. And I thought Keiichi was the dense one."

Her disgust quickly elevated to anger. She began to feel a familiar feeling.

"You should have more regard for other's privacy Duos…" a slight tinge in her voice.

"The school's a public place isn't it?" said Duos, trying to resist the urge to laugh.

"I mean seriously, it's not a big deal."

She couldn't resist any longer. She began walking over to Duos, who was just starting to stand.

"Look I was just trying to be fu- GYAAHH!"

Duos never saw her coming. She had been swift in her movements and before he could raise his head, she delivered a sharp kick to his stomach, dropping him to his knees. He hacked and coughed a few times before collapsing on his side. The same person that had struck fear into her school was now retching at her feet.

"Guh… The hell…?"

She looked down at the distraught Duos who was lying on his side, clutching his stomach. His eyes were closed, not even bothering to look and see if that was all she had in store for him.

"Curiosity killed the cat Duos," she said as she lined up to kick him once more. To her anger however, Duos only chuckled.

"You won't be laughing for long," she wound up her second kick, and began to follow through but was stopped short.

Her leg was caught.

She looked down to see that Duos had grabbed her leg mid strike and was now looking up at her with a familiar grin on his face.

"I still got some lives left…" the words caught her off guard, and before she could break free, Duos flipped her, causing her to land sharply on her back.

"GAH!" she winced at the pain, but quickly tried to regain her stance. She was almost up again but was flipped a second time by a now standing Duos.

"You're not going to kick me again, I'll tell you that," Duos seemed to have already recovered from her kick.

She scooted backwards as Duos began to approach her knowing that if she stood up a second time she'd only be flipped again. She continued her backwards motions until her hand brushed against something sharp, a small piece of scrap metal, not much bigger than her hand. She gripped the metal firmly and stopped her movement.

"Alright, I think were done, let me help you up,"

She didn't move. She only starred angrily at the disheartened Duos.

"Look I'm sorry, I took things too far, let's just-…"

Now she moved. Quicker than her first movement she lunged at Duos, jabbing the piece of metal into his chest… Almost.

She had managed to break through his clothing, but Duos had grabbed her hand just short of a piercing blow.

"You're going to pay for what you've done Duos."

Both of them struggled to force the metal away from each other, but it seemed like she had the upper hand. One more push would do it.

"Alright! Alright! Let's just stop before someone gets hurt." Duos was slowly losing the battle. His hands were sweaty and he was about to lose his grip. She could feel that if she pushed now Duos couldn't stop her. With one final push, she shoved the piece of metal forward, but Duos moved with her strike, moving slightly out of the way to allow the metal to tear through his clothing, but not his flesh.

"Not quite!" She grabbed the torn fabric and swung the metal in an ark above her head, aiming the point at Duos' neck.

But Duos was ready this time.

In a quick snapping movement, he struck her knee with his own crippling her strike, the slash fell on fabric for the second time.

She stumbled backward and nearly collapsed from the blow, but the defense had proven more costly for Duos, as he stumbled and fell to the ground a few feet away from her.

She went to move in for the final strike but stopped, astonished by what she saw lying before her. Duos' clothes had been cut away during the fighting, and had revealed something morbid beneath them.

"You done now?" said Duos through a hiss of pain.

She gave no response and could only look upon Duos with utter shock.

_Scars_. Dozens of scars covered Duos' exposed chest, each of different lengths and some deeper and more apparent than others. She began thinking that there must have been a horrible accident to inflict such damage on one's body, but that thought was short lived as she came to a more gruesome realization.

There were words.

She looked closely and saw that the scars were placed so that they formed words amongst Duos' flesh.

_Had someone carved the words into him?_

She stepped back and dropped the piece of metal, now only gazing at the mass of scars on Duos' body.

"Get a good look?" said Duos as he began to pick himself up. He was having trouble with his footing.

"Where did those come from?" She asked with an almost sympathetic tone.

"Now wouldn't you like to know," said Duos in an all too familiar tone. Except Duos wasn't smiling this time. She watched as he picked up the taters of clothing that remained of his once white shirt that was now a mess of dirt and grass. He began to wrap the clothing around his body to cover as much as he could, and whilst doing so, she finally had a chance to take in Duos.

He wasn't that much taller than her, maybe an inch at best and had dark brown hair that was long enough to cover his ears, but only the slightest part of his eyes. She looked carefully at him and saw that his eyes were the same color as his hair, a deep brown. She also noticed that like the day they first saw him, Duos was wearing black jeans.

_That would explain why he was always lounging in the shade…_

His shirt was different though, he had worn a dark blue t-shirt the first time they met him, and it seemed to be the only part of Duos' style that seemed to change. However, the most astonishing thing she noticed about Duos was his build. He didn't look incredibly muscular, but he looked strong enough so that he could have easily overpowered her during their fight. Why hadn't he?

"What's going on out here?"

She turned to see her friends running out of the building, with Keiichi at the head.

"I was wondering when they would show up," said Duos as he finished tying the knots on the last bits of his ragged clothing. The scars were now completely covered by the tattered shirt.

"What's up with you two?" said Satoko as she grimaced at the pair.

She looked down at herself, and saw why Satoko had been concerned. She had seen Duos with his torn shirt but she had yet to address her own damages. Her clothes were filthy and caked with dust and there was a thin line of blood on her arm, oozing from a cut on her elbow. Aside from the lack of clothing, she wasn't much better off than Duos.

"So what's the deal?" said Keiichi. He addressed Duos more than herself.

"Just a misunderstanding between the two of us," said Duos. He wasn't acting arrogant anymore, he almost seemed apologetic.

"What did you do this time?" Keiichi was fuming, while the rest of the group stood to the side and let him berate the solemn Duos.

"Look I didn't pull the same stuff as last time, I was just…"

"Trying to be funny?" said Keiichi.

Duos was silent for a moment. He wasn't defending himself, and quietly accepted Keiichi's scolding. He looked like a boy getting berated by his father.

"Kei-chan it's not his fault,"

"How so?"

She glanced slightly at Duos and saw that he was looking at her a little differently than before, he had no malice in his expression and was smiling slightly at her. It was the first time she didn't feel enraged by that smile.

"I picked the fight with Duos Kei-chan…" She tensed with each word.

"You?" said Keiichi.

"Yes me, I 'overreacted' to something Duos said and it resulted in… well you can see for yourself what happened."

Keiichi was silent for a moment. He glanced at Duos, who was fidgeting with the pieces of clothing wrapped around his body, and then at her. She gave him an apologetic look and bowed her head in silence. Before she could raise her head Keiichi spoke.

"What did he say?"

"Eh?" She raised her head to see Keiichi staring intensely at her.

"What did he say to provoke you? It would have to had been pretty serious to start a fight, so what was it?"

She hesitated before replying, she had no idea how Keiichi would respond after all this.

"U-um… He… Was…"

"Yes…." Keiichi's gaze was unmoved; if anything it became more intense.

"He… was glancing in on us… during club activities," her voice was barely audible.

Keiichi continued to stare at her. Her response brought no change to his expression; he was unmoving and appeared unimpressed with her response. He continued to stare at her for a few more seconds before taking a few steps towards her. Keiichi was now only a few feet away, and from such a short distance his one word reaction hit hard.

"Really?"

He turned around and walked over to Duos and did the same.

"Really?"

Keiichi glanced at both her and Duos before surprising them both with a fit of laughter.

"Ha! That's why you picked a fight with him Mion? Because he wanted to watch us play the game? I mean, it can be quite the spectacle at some points," Keiichi was now smiling at her, devoid of any previous anger.

"B-but it's not right to spy on people, especially when he was watching and listening to everything we said or did," she was regretting defending Duos.

"She's right Keiichi-kun," said Rena.

Keiichi gave her and Rena another smile before turning to look at Duos.

"Hey Duos?"

"Yeah?"

"How long were you watching us?"

"About 10… maybe 15 seconds at most; I heard you laughing and saw you gloating after winning a hand or something and Mion getting frustrated about it; then I went and laid down in the shade."

"Still mad Mion?" Keiichi shot her another smile.

The embarrassment she felt was making her face go red and she could feel herself blushing. She couldn't handle looking at Keiichi or Duos. Before she could recover she felt a hand rubbing her head.

She looked up to see Keiichi smiling gently at her.

"Kei-chan?" Her blush deepened.

"I still think this whole thing was blown out of proportion, but I think that there's an easy way to even the score between you guys."

Satoko laughed maniacally, and all attention turned to her.

"Ohohohoh, are you really going to risk your advantage Keiichi-san?"

Keiichi laughed in reply, "It would only be fitting, what's the fun in a game when the winner has already been decided?"

The others caught on to what Keiichi was saying, leaving only Mion and Duos in the dark.

"What are you talking about?" said Duos.

"You showed a lot of interest in our game earlier and now you're going to become part of the fun," said Keiichi.

She finally understood what Keiichi was saying.

"You want him to join the game?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun! One thing though, the rest of us won't be playing. Just you and Duos," said Keiichi.

"But I don't…"

Rena and Satoko smiled and grabbed Duos by his hands and began leading him into the school. Satoko was eagerly explaining the rules of the game while Rena told him about what he could do if he won.

She looked at Keiichi, who gave her a wry smile and also began walking back into the school. She too smiled and followed him into the school. Only Rika and Hanyu remained in the yard.

Hanyu turned to Rika and stuttered.

"Rika?"

"Looks like the game really is going to get interesting," said a joyful Rika.

What do you mean by interesting?"

Rika chuckled slightly, "Come on, we shouldn't miss the main event," said Rika as she too walked back into the school.

The schoolyard was quiet, not even the cicadas made a sound. Hanyu knelt down and picked a small piece of white cloth off the ground and sighed.

"No, we shouldn't."

She clutched the piece of cloth and ran back into the school to her awaiting friends.

**Author's Notes:**

Who wants to play the game where we guess how long it's been since I last updated?

Probably no one considering how long I've been gone.

I won't make any promises, but I will try to write more.

I hope you readers like the story so far, and I will try to show it more appreciation.

Be productive and don't slack off like me :)


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